No. 6 Kansas tops Texas, clinches outright Big 12 title

Sophomore center Udoka Azubuike, who came in leading the nation with 77 percent shooting, made his first 10 shots Monday while scoring 20 points as No. 6 Kansas upended Texas 80-70 at Lawrence, Kan.

The Jayhawks (24-6) won their fifth straight and captured the Big 12 championship outright by climbing to 13-4 with one league game remaining. The conference title is their 14th in a row, an NCAA record.

Svi Mykhailiuk netted 17 points, while Devonte’ Graham added a double-double with 10 points and 11 assists as the two senior guards helped Kansas to its 35th consecutive win in a home finale at Allen Fieldhouse. Azubuike finished 10 of 11 from the field and added eight rebounds.

Although Texas (17-13, 7-10) played short-handed, it kept the game in single digits much of the second half, but could not cut the lead closer than seven down the stretch. Junior guard Kerwin Roach II led five Longhorns in double figures with 18 points and also dished eight assists.

Texas played without freshman center Mohamed Bamba, who has been slowed by a toe injury to left foot. Bamba, who leads the Big 12 in rebounds and blocked shots, posted 22 points, 15 boards and a school-record eight blocks in the Longhorns’ first meeting against Kansas, a 92-86 loss on Dec. 29.

In addition, Eric Davis was withheld from competition for the second straight game as Texas officials investigate potential violations committed by the junior guard stemming from an FBI probe into college basketball.

Mykhailiuk scored 14 points on 6-for-9 shooting and Graham distributed seven assists to pace Kansas to a 45-32 halftime advantage. The Jayhawks shot 60.6 percent before the break, using a 16-0 run to build a 27-13 lead by the 9:27 mark after the Longhorns had led by two.

Roach went 6-for-8 in the first half and led Texas with 14 first-half points.

The loss dropped Shaka Smart, the Longhorns’ third-year coach, to 0-6 against Kansas in the Big 12 after he directed an upset of the Jayhawks in the 2011 Elite Eight while coaching VCU.